We are getting pretty good at navigating around Milan. This Roman washing area is right in the middle of a residential area near Eleanor's apartment. You can see the slanted boards they probably washed on, and the racks to dry.
The apartment is on a street that is along a canal. In the evening the cars are gone and tables from the restaurants are set up all along the street. We ate right near her house one evening.
We are staying in Eleonora's three bedroom apartment while in Milan. We really like it. She has decorated it more simply than the family home, with bright colors in all of the rooms. It is on the third floor of a 4 story building. All of the windows and doors look into an interior court yard. Like almost all buildings, there are green shutters on the windows and doors of the yellowish stucco building.
Milan is a busy working city known for its textile industry. This modern sculpture is of a thread and needle. All of the buildings here, and in the other parts of Italy that we have seen, are centuries old, but have been renovated. Even new buildings such as apartments, are built in the old style, so most of the architecture is similar.

Bruce and I took the train back to Milan. We are really enjoying the adventure, the relaxation, and the excitement of the train. We can doze to the sound of incomprehensible Italian, look at the landscape, or just talk. We really like it.
The churches are all so... Catholic!
Every town seems to have a "Duomo," a church with a dome.

Don't forget to scroll down to the last entry that you have read, then scroll UP as you read the entries in chronological order. Hope you are enjoying the Italy Blog!


While the inside of the classrooms have little distraction, the outside view could carry you into an all morning daydream.
"Bruce, can you build me one of these platforms for my classroom?"
The walls of the rooms are very plain, no computers or eithernet (except the two small computer labs) and hardly an electrical outlet.Nick explains that the school day is from 8-1:00. The teachers of the various subjects rotate, but the students stay in the same room the entire time unless they are granted permission to use the restrooms between periods. Nicolo is in the department of math and sciences, while Sabastiano is in the arts and literature.
The hallways are newly painted with no graffiti. Sabastiano and Nicolo show us their classrooms.
The stairwells at the school have beautiful murals inside.

We walked around town, got a granite (slushy ice drink served with a spoon and a straw that gives you a killer headache if you slurp it too fast), and saw the sights of the town.
We got to meet a group of Nicolo's friends while there. They all seemed like nice kids, much like out own kids in the U.S.
Nicolo and Sabastiano's school is right in the pretty little town of Como, right on the edge of the beautiful lake.

We did find this one informative poster, however!
The walls are clear of notices or posters... mostly painted artwork of a religious nature.

This is a statue in the main court yard as you enter the school.
Interesting and modern overhead covering is attached to the side of old building to allow passing from one building to the next without getting wet.

This is the beautiful student chapel at his school. It reminded us of ours at Marin Catholic.

This is the entry to Nick's school in Como. Very different than Chico High.
We rode with Nick in his new car to his school. Gas was expensive and you have to pay toll on the roads.
We left Verona and headed to Como where we would meet Nicolo and his brother. Bruce wanted his picture taken with this symbol as it is the symbol of the yearbook.

Two times Bruce and I counted all of the actors on stage, and we both got around 300... and that does not include the ballet dancers of which there were about 30!

A photo doesn't really show the drama of thousands of tiny lights as the sky got dark and the moon rose.

In back of us was an old wall of arches that was dramatically lit. In front of us was a huge crowd with their little candles lit.
Everyone was given little candles to symbolize the only source of illumination in the 1800's when Aida was first performed in Verona's Arena Amphitheatre.
We went to get tickets to see Aida in the afternoon, and found ourselves among a crowd of 1500 that night!

No internet with the ability to upload photos, so I will write a bit. Robert is in Venice. Next chance I get, I will put on the photos of the ancient outdoor arena amphitheatre of Verona. We saw Aida, and it was fantastic.

We went to Como and Nick and his brother gave us a tour of his school. It was fun to see where he goes and compare it to Chico High. Very different.

We left Verona on the train the folling day and arrived in Milan in the early evening. Eleonora met us and she followed our cab on her scooter to her house. We showered and went out to dinner to celebrate her new job. We ate at one of the many outdoor cafes along the canel near her apartment.The sky was over cast and it was humid and muggy. The thunder in the distance only hinted at rain. We slept with two fans on us!

The next day we wandered around Milan, taking the subway to various destinations. The highlights were the church where they restored Da Vinci's "Last Supper". We rented a little headphone and it told all about the painter and the painting, both from an historic as well as artistic point of view. We really liked it. Then we went into the heart of the city where we stood in the middle of the oldest indoor mall. We were surrounded by expensive stores like Prada and Louis Vitton. I didn't buy anything, but Bruce took my picture.

Today we are off to a little town on the north shore of Lake Como. It is in Switzerland! We will have lunch and then meet Nick and his mom for dinner in Como at his house.